ABs on the fringe must seize their opportunity to shine

There’s a few nerves but the preparation during the week will unsettle those come game time. Stephen Perofeta

Christchurch, where he didn’t touch the ball, Perofeta deserves another opportunity to showcase his talent in the test arena.

“My excitement levels are pretty high right now,” Perofeta said. “Once I let the family know I was named in the squad, it was a special feeling and they were all really proud. There’s certainly a few nerves in there but the preparation during the week will unsettle those come game time.

“The journey has been really special. I’ve had my ups and downs before I was in this environment, but to be here now, I can certainly look back and be proud of what I’ve done. This is another challenge for me. I’ve tried to enjoy each moment and keep things simple so come Saturday, I’m able to execute my role and have fun.”

While the backline that also features Sevu Reece’s return on the right wing and Blues halfback Finlay Christie’s second start has a decidedly green tinge to it, the Sam Cane-led forward pack should balance that inexperience.

With a month between fixtures, and only six players returning from the dominant victory against the Wallabies at Eden Park that secured the Rugby Championship title, Foster is conscious those factors will challenge the All Blacks as they attempt to immediately regain their rhythm.

“We’re dealing with a unique situation for us,” Foster said. “We traditionally have the third Bledisloe between the Rugby Championship and the Northern Hemisphere tour. This year, we haven’t, which means we’ve got a big gap there.

“It’s new to us to try to get up to speed at this time of year. We’ve gone through a week of a little bit of rust at the start but I’m delighted with the effort. The handling, the catching, has gone from being a 5/10 to improve dramatically so I feel like we are getting our timing back.

“The key on Saturday is when we have a few of those rusty moments that we climb out of it very quickly and don’t double up in that space.”

Jamie Joseph’s Japan, inspired by playing in front of a 65,000 sellout crowd at their National Stadium, are sure to test the All Blacks with their pace, tempo, offloads and Tony Brown-inspired innovation.

The All Blacks are expected to use the likes of Shannon Frizell, Tupou Vaa’i and a bench containing Patrick Tuipulotu and Dalton Papali’i to try to impose their physicality and reformed set piece strength on Japan, before unleashing their backline threats.

“There’s a danger in any test match of being drawn away from the game you want to play,” said Foster.

“They’ve had enough scalps in the last three or four years to know they are a quality team. If they’re allowed to impose their style of game on you, they can really cause some issues. Their whole game is about pressure, forcing you to think fast and move away from the things you want to do. We’ve got to be better than that.

“We don’t want to deliberately slow this game down just to negate them because that won’t do us any good in the long term.”